2.
BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
Understand the regulation of the media sector
Use this workbook to help you with this learning outcome. There is some guidance
and further notes which you should read and then remove, replacing it with your own
answers.
Which regulatory body did you research?
I have chosen to research the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)
What are they in charge of regulating?
The BBFC are in charge of providing age ratings to films all the way from U to
R18.
They do this by watching a film submitted to them and then coming to a final
judgment. However they do work with the producer mid as well as post
production to help them to meet the guidelines for certain age ratings, however
in some cases there is nothing the BBFC can suggest and a producer must
keep changing the film until it is accepted, for instance the Human Centipede II
was submitted twice to the BBFC firstly uncut, which saw the film almost banned
for a breach of the obscenity law, then with a total of 37 cuts which totalled to a
cut of 2 minutes 37 seconds the film was accepted for a DVD release.
When was the body set up? Why was it set up?
The BBFC was set in 1912 by film producers in London who claimed that they
would rather be in charge of classification of their own films than have the
government do it for them, however to this day local governments are able to
overrule the BBFC’s decisions from just simple cuts to banning a film entirely.
The BBFC operated its legal basis on the Cinematograph Act of 1909, which
provided the legal basis for film censorship.
How is this organisation funded? Why is it funded that way? Are there any
benefits or drawbacks to being funded this way?
The BBFC is a non-profit organisation that receives it’s funding from the cost of
its services e.g. DVD running times, distribution etc. They are funded this way
due to them being a non-government/independent body.
This is beneficial as this means the BBFC can be more flexible and
experimental with their activities due to no government restrictions.
However the main problem with the BBFC being a non-government organisation
is that if it loses custom it could completely go under because it does not
receive government funding.

3.
BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
What powers does the regulatory body have? What can they do if
someone breaks their rules? Who gives these powers to the body?
The BBFC’s website states that:
“Trading Standards and law enforcement officers have the power to seize illegal video works
including, but not limited to, DVDs, Blu-rays and video games. The BBFC has been designated
by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to provide evidence to help secure
convictions under the terms of the Video Recordings Act (VRA) 1984.” -
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/industry-services/law-enforcement
The BBFC can also completely ban films being distributed in the country as well as seizing them
from the public. A famous example of this is the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, released in 1974,
which was banned for 25 years until 1999 where it was submitted to the BBFC and passed
uncut with an 18 certificate.
The BBFC works under four different acts which give them their power, they are:
Obscene Publications 1959 – This applies to covers and or publicity material. For instance
having a very exposing image across a huge billboard in a city centre would fall under this
category as everyone will see this and mostly the wrong audiences.
Cinematograph Films (Animals) 1937 and Anima Welfare 2006 – These acts were put in place
to prohibit the harm and in some cases killing of animals on film. An example of this is the
video nasty Cannibal Holocaust which to this day is still cut due to the genuine slaughter of
animals for the camera.
Protection of Children Act 1978 – An act put in place which strictly forbids the creation and
showing of indecent content involving anyone under the age of 16, mainly sexual.
How does the industry use it?
Before releasing a film commercially in the UK it must first be submitted to the
BBFC to which they will then watch the uncut film and give a rating based on
what they have seen.
Sometimes directors are aiming for a certain age certificate so in this case if the
BBFC gives a different age rating they will then help the director by suggesting
alternate scenes as well as cuts for the film.
How can the public use it?
The BBFC don’t just limit the age rating decisions to themselves as every 4-5
years they will ask members of the public what their views are on certain age
certificates set by the BBFC and based on these results will alter their standards
based on the public eye.
The BBFC allows consumers, alongside producers, to complain about age
ratings whether they believe it should be lowered or brought up, this can be
done via e-mailing the BBFC.

4.
BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
What kinds of regulatory issues does your body deal with the most?
The BBFC work in censorship of media seen unfit for viewing but they do this
based off the opinions of the consumers.
This can be seen over time as if we look at video nasties. In the 1980s that
these films were deeply controversial, of course getting their own name, and
also getting banned completely for many years. If we were to look back at the
video nasties today they are seen as tacky and cheap as technology has moved
on, and the majority of these films are available for purchase to this day
completely uncut, this is due to the information gathered by the BBFC about the
public every 5 years.
Case Studies:
Find a case study which demonstrates the regulatory body working in practice.
The Wicker Man was a horror film released in 1973 and was submitted to the
BBFC in the summer of that year. The BBFC rated it what was then an x but it is
now the equivalent of an 18, this is due to the nudity, sex, horror and the final
scene of the human sacrifice.
Over the next 20 years The Wicker Man gained more and more cult status
amongst fans of the horror genre and was thus re submitted in 1990 it was
initially going to be passed as a 15 but was given the 18 due to the ending as
well as the large amount of sexual content.
When the BBFC updated their guidelines in 2000 which meant the BBFC had to
gather public opinions and views on age certificates and it was concluded that
public attitudes had changed drastically since The Wicker Man’s 1973 release
and was finally given the 15 age certificate almost 30 years later.
Find a second case study which demonstrates the regulatory body working in
practice.
This is England was released in 2007 as a representation of skinheads in the
80s and was given an 18 certificate; however it was discussed in depth whether
or not to use a 15 certificate rather than the 18.
The scene that was at the main argument of it being a 15 was the penultimate
scene which involved the character Combo severely beating up his mixed race
friend Milky in a racist attack. It was argued that because of the lack of blood
and gore the film should be given a 15 however it was stated that it was the
scenario which involved a distraught child watching as the event unfolds. There
are many arguments on both sides but more were leaning towards to the 18
category.
The director, Shane Meadow, says he was very disappointed by this rating as
he hoped the film would be educational in a sense to younger audiences
unfortunately some local authorities had overruled the 15 certificate of the film
and the BBFC had to obey as the local authorities get the final say on ratings.

5.
BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
Regulation:
You should answer the following questions using the information you have
gained so far in the unit to help you provide examples to support your opinions.
You may also wish to undertake further research to help you produce detailed
answers.
Should there be regulation of the media?
There are two sides of this question as on one hand we have film that follow an
educational lesson and on the other we have films that are literally just
senseless violence.
The BBFC works on public views which I believe is far better than a select group
of people speaking on behalf of the whole country, film regulation is absolutely
essential in delivering the right message to the right people for instance parents
would not want their young child to watching a gory horror film and by putting
these regulation in place it makes it extremely difficult for people under the age
to own/see these films, this is shown when we look at the video nasties which
were described as “Video Sadism” by the Daily Mail and this saw young
children, as mentioned above, watching gory/brutal horror films until the Video
Recordings act.
On the other side of the spectrum there are films that are attempting to educate
the new generation on past events a recent example is The Boy in Striped
Pyjamas which is a film set in the holocaust which was given the 12a due to the
themes, however there was talks of it originally being a PG due to the beginning
of the film being a young boys childhood, education etc. However the film was
given the 12a, firstly because of its ending, much like The Wicker Man, had a
very dark turn and involves the deaths of the protagonists it is also not a PG
because it could be perceived as promoting Nazi behaviour in children with the
saluting, flags, sayings etc.
Overall I believe media regulation to be necessary only up to the ages of 15/16
also using the r18 as the current regulations are mainly focusing on what
children see and get influenced by, and at this age the majority of people have
mentally matured at this age and thanks to the widespread access of the
internet people 15 – 16 have already accessed content similar to or much more
explicit than the work in question.
Should regulators be independent?
I believe that regulators should be independent as this allows more freedom in
their methodology for instance integrating in the public.
When a relator is not independent they are then government controlled which
means that activities will be more restricted than that of an independent
company. Being a government regulator does have an advantage however, this
is that the regulator is government funded and will have the government on their
side as appose to having separate authorities having the final say.
In conclusion I believe that regulators should be independent so long as they
work like the BBFC by integrating in the public’s opinions on the matters as
appose to just a select number of people deciding. By being independent it will
also show us which regulators are needed and which aren’t as none will be
government funded and rather consumer funded.

6.
BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
Extension tasks
Answer just one of the following questions with a long form answer using
specific examples to help support your opinions.
Why do we allow regulatory bodies to censor media products like films
and video games?
or
Is it important to regulate adverts?
I believe it to be essential to regulate adverts not only for content but for
placement as advertisements are designed for a certain age group and it is
crucial that these groups are met.
When an advertisement is designed the target audience and placement are
always the crucial aspects taken into account as if you were to put an
advertisement for a children’s television programme on a 24 hour news channel
that it is highly unlikely the advertisement will meet the target audience and will
most likely put off the usual viewer of the channel. An example of the other side
is airing a trailer for a horror film on a children’s television channel, not only will
it scare the child it will also lead to the parents not using the TV channel again
because of this.
Next we move onto content an example of the regulation of advertisement is
moving back to The Wicker Man which had its trailer censored for a scene of
nudity and it is just as relevant today as these advertisements are broadcast on
mainstream television which are viewed by people across a large age group
and if a trailer for a gory film was to show the most explicit scenes on a
mainstream TV channel it would render the age certificates useless as the
aspects of the film that gave it the high certificate it would then have already be
seen by the wrong age group.
In conclusion I believe that advertisements should defiantly by regulated as
without the regulation the advertisement can give not only a bad name for the
medium that represented the advert but for the actual product itself.
Or

7.
BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
Is people’s privacy or freedom of information more important?